Damsel in Distress, Daidouji
by skybluescramble
Summary: Hiiragizawa Eriol, who came back from London to Japan, accidentally found out that Daidouji Tomoyo suffered a male allergy. How do they deal with that condition? :NEW UPDATE: CHAPTER #6!
1. After Eight Years

from **skybluescramble**:

hello (:

just like my other stories, i tend to change some details from the original plot so that it will fit into my plot. you don't need to throw me every single thing about Card Captor Sakura because just like you, I know the whole story.

this fic probably has a not-so-original idea on the storyline (i got influenced by several titles of novels and movies), but still...

read and review, kay? :D

no flames, please.

* * *

><p><strong>DISCLAIMER<strong>:

Card Captor Sakura/カードキャップたーさくら

CLAMP©1997

* * *

><p><strong>:: Damsel in Distress, Daidouji ::<strong>

.

SUMMARY:

Hiiragizawa Eriol, who just came back from London to Japan, accidentally found out that Daidouji Tomoyo suffered a peculiar 'sickness'. What if things didn't go as he had predicted, when he finally decided on helping Tomoyo to overcome her problem?

.

.

SEIJOU University in the afternoon had the most comfy atmosphere that was what she always thought, moreover, if it was in spring or autumn. The cozy feeling, strengthened by friendly breeze which makes the leaves fell down to the earth—or in case of spring, leaves would be replaced by Sakura petals—never fails to amaze her. She liked it when the sun started to set behind the main building, creating a massive silhouette on the ground she found pretty.

Holding her binder notes tight, Daidouji Tomoyo continued walking across the center yard towards the dormitory. Brushing her hair past her shoulder with a hand, Tomoyo took a look at her surroundings. Most of the students had left the college; the remaining ones must be them who stayed at the campus dorm, just like her.

"Tomoyo!"

The called raven-haired girl stopped before turning around to see who had shouted her name loud enough to be heard from the end of the yard. A certain brunette ran towards her direction, waving something in her hand that seemed like a piece of paper excitedly.

Wow. That girl could run fast.

"Sakura?"

"Tomoyo-chan, you won't believe it!" Kinomoto Sakura exclaimed after reaching her best friend, rasping for breath. With trembling fingers, she hurriedly opened the wrinkled letter in her hand as though she would die by the next second. "Kero just brought me this letter from the library's window an hour ago, and I knew I must tell you! I've been searching you for about thirty minutes, I'd asked some people in the dorm but—"

Tomoyo raised her hand immediately in an interrupting fashion.

"Breathe, Sakura. Breathe," she instructed, "Just... take it easy. Calm down first."

Some silence took in as the Card Mistress relaxed. Then, "Listen. Eriol is coming back here! And he will stay in Tomoeda from now on! Isn't that great? We'll be able to meet him again!"

"W-what?"

"It's Eriol! Let's pick him up at the airport! His plane will touch down in two hours, Tomoyo-chan. We don't have much time left!"

Almost forcing, Sakura dragged a dumbfounded Daidouji Tomoyo to the main gate of Seijou High; she didn't bother to hear yelp of protests that left her cousin's mouth. And that was how this story started.

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><p><span>CHAPTER 01:<span>

**After Eight Years...**

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><p>PERFECTION. It was the very first thought that passed Tomoyo's mind the moment she saw Hiiragizawa Eriol emerged from the Arrival gate, walking confidently beside an immortal beauty named Akizuki Nakuru who hugged a black plushie doll-like feline they had known as Spinel Sun in her temporary form. They attracted so much attention from others for real (those passerbies couldn't just walk away without stealing a glance towards them as though they were some Hollywood celebrities). Averting her eyes from both of Eriol's guardians, Tomoyo began to scrutinize the young mage further. She took some mental notes while doing so, to compare the newly found data with how he looked like when they were twelve.<p>

He had quite changed, as a matter of fact.

Eriol had grown into a tall man. Perhaps taller than Syaoran, who snorted disrespectfully when the Londoner spotted their presence and called out for Sakura. They shared a friendly hug whereas Tomoyo nailed on her feet, watching.

"Long time no see, Sakura-chan." He greeted politely.

Syaoran grunted low in his throat as his face got sulkier.

"And," Eriol turned around to face his descendant, "nice to meet you again, Syaoran-kun, Daidouji-san."

Tomoyo smiled. _Daidouji-san_.

"I thought you are past formalities towards me, Hiiragizawa." She replied, causing his brows to twitch slightly.

"So, 'Tomoyo' is fine?"

"I see no problem in that."

They both exchanged smile before Nakuru interrupted them by asking what will they do next. Eriol had politely declined Sakura's offer to take them home; he said they had called for a rental car beforehand. So, after some cups of good coffee in a cafe they found inside the airport, they parted ways. Sakura had successfully forced Eriol to accept an offer to help him unpack things tomorrow, and as usual, the Card Mistress always dragged her best friend's along.

Tomoyo just couldn't say no.

It wasn't only because Sakura had her soft spot, but she simply didn't get the slightest chance to speak up.

* * *

><p>SLAMMING her door shut, Tomoyo let out a deep sigh. Today was absolutely tiring. She could just passed out and spend her whole Sunday by sleeping in her dorm room and not doing anything else. She leaned her back against the door, face buried in both hands before they moved upwards to brush her hair. Sighing one more time, Tomoyo walked towards a calendar hung near her wardrobe and snatched a ballpoint from her desk. Carefully, she circled the twenty-third of March—tomorrow's date—and scribbled some notes under the red-colored digits.<p>

_Helping Hiiragizawa unpack stuffs with Sakura_.

She slouched down on the floor and began removing her shoes she forgot to take off. After hanging her jacket, Tomoyo flexed her fingers with anticipation as she sat in front of her desk. Study time. If she wouldn't have much time tomorrow, then the best chance she had for studying was only tonight. She needed to keep up her good grades if she didn't wish to lose her scholarship.

"Alright, let's do it." Tomoyo whispered to herself.

Two and half an hour later, the young Daidouji had fallen asleep on her desk, her notes and textbooks scattered everywhere.

It was the sunlight warming up the room that woke her up the next day. Her lids fluttered open, and the first thing she knew was the excruciating pain on her back from having a bad sleeping form. Straightening her posture, Tomoyo's eyes transfixed at the alarm clock in front of her.

Five past seven.

Still too early.

She rose on her feet and began cleaning her room. When she finished showering, the alarm clock showed ten past eight. Tomoyo sighed as she dressed up and put light make-up on to give her face a fresh look. She'd better hurry; she still had to go to a convenient store to buy her breakfast. Quickly, Tomoyo packed all the necessary things into a small sling bag before stepping out of her room, locking the key and taking her leave.

"Discount day! Discount day! Only one hundred yen for all variant of donuts! Don't miss this wonderful chance!"

Tomoyo stopped walking. She turned her head towards the source of noise. Mister Donut cafe seemed to have its last day of one hundred yen donuts selling. Her hand unconsciously crept downwards and she felt her stomach grumbled in protest, begging to be filled. She grinned sheepishly**.**

"I still have some more time," Tomoyo mumbled as she stepped past the automatic-lock door. Five minutes later she already sat down on a couple chair with potato donut, crunch donut, mont blanc and a glass of water in front of her. Happily, Tomoyo picked up her first choice—crunch donut—and whispered, "_Itadakimasu_."

Closing her eyes, Tomoyo tried to enjoy every single moment when she chew her breakfast. It wasn't everyday Mister Donut gave the customers one hundred yen donut selling, and the event was unpredictable. Besides, having breakfast other than rice balls felt good.

"Do you mind a company, Miss?"

Startled, Tomoyo choked on her drink. Her head immediately shot upwards to see who the guest was.

"Hiiragizawa!" she gasped nervously, "You almost killed me!"

He let out a crisp laugh. "I didn't expect to meet you here."

"Have a seat, then." Tomoyo smiled sweetly. Despite that, Eriol somehow caught a glimpse of her shifting her chair backward, as though wanting to create an additional distance between them. Nevertheless, seeing the way she spoke made him just shrugged it off. "Mister Donut is always my favorite."

"I didn't know that."

Tomoyo giggled. "Now you do."

"Yeah, I guess so..."

"What brings you here, Hiiragizawa?"

A smile. "Nothing. I just feel like walking around and coincidentally found this place. And you...?"

"I'm having my breakfast, you see." Tomoyo raised her half-empty glass. "If I want to help you, then I need to fill my energy beforehand. Sakura probably does the same at home."

Eriol's face went blank for a moment. He looked serious, almost like someone who was thinking hard to remember something important. This caught Tomoyo's curiosity, and she attentively asked him. "What's wrong?"

"Ah—no. It's just... It's just Sakura called me this morning."

The raven-haired girl glanced at the nearest clock. "It's still morning."

"Before I went here," Eriol corrected, "she said something like having a menstrual pain and she can't come with you to my house."

"Pardon me?"

"Sakura won't be able to come today."

"Oh," was all Tomoyo said in response, but for some reasons she felt her nervousness grew. She inwardly hoped Eriol would change the subject soon. Luck was on her side, anyway. Eriol chose to ask her about different matter—although in the end it turned out to be a not-so-nice topic either.

"It's not like you to have breakfast outside," he started. "Didn't your maids cook something?"

"No." Tomoyo gulped down the last drop of her water. "I don't have any maids."

"Then, who are they, those working women in Daidouji Mansion?"

"I'm not staying at that mansion anymore."

Hiiragizawa Eriol went silent. He had said his last question in a very casual way—_too_ casual, probably, he could even tell the mocking tone hidden beneath every single word himself—but her feedback perfectly got him off-guard.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Did you leave home? Run away? Having fight with your mom?"

Tomoyo almost laughed. "No, no, and no. My mother died last year, Hiiragizawa, sorry for not telling you anything, but I didn't want to make a fuss about it. You were in England back then, and I felt bad to make you come to Tomoeda just for attending my mom's funeral."

His face fell. "Sorry to hear that."

"It's fine, really." Tomoyo waved her hand casually to assure him.

"So, where do you live now?" Eriol asked in curiosity, but he added immediately when he saw her body tense again. "It's okay if you don't want to answer. I didn't intend to pry."

"I'm living at the dorm in Seijou University."

Eriol looked unsure. "Dorm?"

"Yes."

"Why...?"

"Because I have nowhere else to go."

The young mage straightened his back, his tone became serious. "Tell me, Daidouji. What happened in these eight years? Be honest with me."

Tomoyo always knew when he used only her last name (and no suffix), Hiiragizawa Eriol was at his most serious state. She sighed heavily.

"It's quite a long story."

"I have plenty of time."

Frustrated already, the girl with amethyst orbs raised both of her hands in defeat. "Alright."

Then she begun, "In summary, after the death of my mother—it was a heart attack, by the way—her business rivals somehow managed to take over the company. They had all the documents needed and a letter which had my mother's signature in it. They took everything, I mean, _everything_, the company and my house. They said if I still wanted to live in the mansion I must behave, but I couldn't stand their way of treating me. I fled away right after entering university and the Headmaster allowed me to stay in the dorm even though it's usually only for the exchange students."

Tomoyo paused to take a breath.

"For daily needs, I cover it up by working part-time in a cafe nearby. I don't have to pay my school tuition since I got a scholarship. All I have to do is watch my grades. That's all."

Eriol blinked slowly, mouth agape. He never expected to hear such a mirthless story from the enigmatic Daidouji Tomoyo, whom he knew as 'The Little Princess Can-Do-It-All' in Tomoeda Elementary. Yeah, it was like nothing could not be done by her. She was an excellent cook, good at sewing, gifted with angelic voice (also, definitely had the capability of singing), friendly, clever, and not to mention, beautiful.

"I let you know too much, Hiiragizawa..." she gave him a weak smile. "But I don't want your pity."

"No, no," said Eriol with rush, "that's not it. Instead, I just find that you—"

His knees suddenly made a contact with their table with a _thud_. The noise was far from loud, but the result of that small accident was clear. His glass got off-balance. It fell, spilling its content all over the table. Some of them splashed on Tomoyo's left arm and skirt, creating ugly blotches of cola on her teal dress. The chill sensation made her jolt in surprise.

"Sorry!" Eriol apologized, standing at his feet to see how bad her dress gets wet. "I wasn't careful."

"No. It's fine, really."

"Here. Use my handkerchief."

Tomoyo was about to utter her gratitude for the handkerchief when she felt something that made her freeze. Her hand stopped moving in the mid-air as though she had been stupefied, not daring to blink. Both of her amethyst orbs were fixated on her other wrist, which was held by Hiiragizawa Eriol.

Every sense in her body seemed to react at the same time.

She jerked off, stumbled backwards, yanked her hand away at full force and before she could stop it, her voice found its escape. "NO! DON'T TOUCH ME!"

...

Silence followed after. Tomoyo gulped nervously as she glanced around; almost all of the guests had turned their direction towards them, and the waiters awkwardly tried to distract their attention by apologizing. But what created a pang of guilt inside her chest was the confused look across Eriol's handsome feature. He stared at her questioningly, as though silently asking what he had done wrong.

Yet, Tomoyo felt she had her tongue tied.

"I'M SORRY!"

Dashing out of the cafe, she didn't notice that a certain boy with spectacles was after her. Tomoyo ran, ran, and ran until she felt her leg muscles were near from breaking apart. Slowly her speed decreased and totally stopped when she reached a big tree. She was leaning her back against its thick bole to catch breath. Still in her panic state, Tomoyo's palm crept up to touch her forehead. Her facial expression cringed in anticipation while doing that.

Warm.

Almost hot, actually.

She could tell her face heated up as well as her entire body. She was getting nervous and dizzy, like someone who suddenly got a bad fever.

"Shit," cursed Tomoyo under her breath when her vision started to blur. In her remaining consciousness, she saw the tall figure of Hiiragizawa Eriol approaching her with worried look across his features. They were quite distant, but somehow Tomoyo knew he saw her body slid down the trunk and collapsed onto the hard ground.

**.**

**to be continued**.

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><p><strong>skybluescramble<strong> again:

can you guess what i'm planning on this fic? :3

please leave reviews!


	2. Tomoyo's Little Secret

from **skybluescramble**:

hi fellas (:

i'm very sorry for the long update. life happens.

anyway… this is the second chapter for you. thanks a lot to **redeyes143**, **Cata06**, **Shanaa12**, **chiharu-tanaka**, **vedha**, **James**** Birdsong**, **erilmerlin**, **Seirin**, **hikarihayashi-chan**, **cheng**, and **Kachiki ****Rei** who left reviews for the very first chapter and those who added my fic in their favorite list or story alert.

i really love you all.

enjoy the update.

and… oh, English isn't my first language. this chapter is unbeta-ed.

* * *

><p><strong>DISCLAIMER<strong>:

Card Captor Sakura/カードキャップたーさくら

CLAMP©1997

* * *

><p><strong>:: Damsel in Distress, Daidouji ::<strong>

.

.

EYELIDS fluttered open, revealing a pair of mesmerizing shades of purple irises. Stunned, Daidouji Tomoyo blinked several times as she let her eyes delved into the sight of unfamiliar ceiling and breathed in the floral-scented air. Now, she was anywhere but in her own dorm room. Her hands moved silently as she caressed the material she was lying on.

Soft.

Smooth.

Not to mention the warm comforter which was covering her upper body and keeping her warm.

She was certainly on someone's bed.

No doubt about it.

As Tomoyo became more aware if her surroundings by each second, she felt something cold being placed on her forehead. Her fingertips moved upwards to graze the material: cloth. Possibly a small towel or something.

"Ah... you awake?" said someone with chirpy tone. Tomoyo slowly turned her head towards the voice and found Akizuki Nakuru sit beside her bed. The odd thing was, she wasn't surprised at all.

* * *

><p><span>CHAPTER 02:<span>

**Tomoyo's Little Secret**

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><p>THREE hours earlier.<p>

Eriol was beyond shock when he saw Tomoyo's body slid down and fell limply onto the ground. He sped off, finishing the last remained distance between them and kneeling down beside the fainted girl to check her pulse.

She was okay, which was a total relief.

But her body temperature was pretty high.

"Fever?" muttered Eriol in confusion. That was strange, because until twenty minutes ago she seemed healthy as ever. They chatted casually and Tomoyo wasn't pale or something. Without second thoughts, Eriol lifted her body, looked around carefully to make sure no one was watching him and muttered a teleportating chant.

They popped up at Hiiragizawa Manor within two seconds.

"Spinel!" he called, "Spinel! Nakuru!"

"Yes?" Akizuki Nakuru, or Ruby Moon, appeared from the kitchen corridor wearing a frilly apron and holding a duster. When her eyes saw Tomoyo's figure they widened as she hurled her body to Eriol's direction. "Oh my God, Eriol, what happened?"

"Is she alright?" Spinel Sun joined in. It was in its small feline form and floating several inches above Nakuru's head.

"I don't know. She has a fever, though. Can you help me take care of her?"

"Sure. I'll go grab some towels and ice cubes."

"I'll get the bowl." Spinel volunteered.

Eriol nodded approvingly. "Please. Go to my room when you're done."

* * *

><p>"MASTER made this for you," Nakuru smiled while helping Tomoyo eat her porridge. The raven-haired girl was half-sitting on Eriol's bed, her back was supported by huge pillows and she was wearing one of Nakuru's pajamas since her own clothes were full of sweat.<p>

Tomoyo smiled back. "Then he's a good cook."

Nakuru's brown eyes gleamed with excitement. "See? I don't see any point why he cooks for us occassionally and makes me do it almost everyday. His cookings are definitely yummier than mine!"

"I can help you out," said Tomoyo modestly. "Anytime when you needed help. Actually cooking is one of my hobbies, too, but in recent years I cannot do it as often as I want."

Her radiant face became slightly glum as she remembered her misfortune. Had it not been for Sakura who invited her to come over and have dinner together twice a week, her days would be so suck... and lonely. "You must come whenever I want you to come. This is the least that I can do for you, Tomoyo-chan!" was Sakura's stern statement after Tomoyo refused her offer to stay at Kinomoto's house instead of living in a dorm.

"Then, it's settled!" Nakuru beamed, giving Tomoyo the last spoonful of her porridge.

And the door was open. Hiiragizawa Eriol came to sight, his six feet and two inches body leaned against the doorframe with arms crossed at his torso. He simply stood on the threshold and looked at Tomoyo with gentle eyes. "How are you?"

"Much better," Tomoyo answered. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Reading the situation, Nakuru hurriedly cleaned up the eating utensils. She winked at Tomoyo and made her way out. "Well, I'd better wash these first. Eriol, I guess you wouldn't mind having a talk with Tomoyo-chan for awhile?"

The mage just flashed her his enigmatic smile.

Tomoyo tensed a bit when Eriol slouched down on the stool beside her bed. But to her big relief, he didn't look like doing anything further than that to get closer, so she let out a long sigh. She didn't even realize holding her breath.

"I don't bite." With a gentle smile he told her.

She still didn't budge.

"I won't come any closer," he whispered in addition, "even just an inch."

Surprisingly, her stiff shoulders seemed to get more relaxed. Eriol notice this slight change and decided to use it at his advantage. He cleared his throat two times to catch her attention and said, "But you must promise me one thing."

"W-what is it?" she sounded uneasy.

Eriol turned his face so that their eyes met each other's. "Spill it out. Your secret. Whatever you're hiding from me."

"I-I-I don't have..."

"You were so panicked hours before..."

"Really, Hiiragizawa—"

"...and shouting at me not to touch you..."

"—I don't know what secret—"

"...then barging out of the shop just like that..."

"—you're talking about..."

"Suddenly got a high fever and fainted, what's all of this shi—"

"ALRIGHT!"

They both shut their mouth abruptly. Once again Tomoyo and Eriol looked at each other like an unspoken challange about who will broke the silence first. However, ten full seconds did a good job on cracking the young Daidouji up.

"Alright. Okay? I'll tell you." She heaved a deep sigh. "Just please... don't laugh."

"What?"

"Promise me you won't laugh."

Eriol felt so stupid now. "Why...? I mean, why will I laugh to—"

"Just promise me." Tomoyo cut in, her tone was a bit desperate.

Although he had no clue, Eriol chose to oblige. Nodding in understanding, he smiled to her and said, "I won't laugh." He could tell that relief washed over her features after she received his words. _Does __it __matter __that __much __for __her?_

"What do you want to know first?"

"Pardon me?"

Her left hand went up to brush her bangs away from her face. "What part do you want to know first? I'm sure you have a lot to interrogate me, Hiiragizawa. I can tell."

Was that in her voice... _sarcasm_?

_But __she__'__s __right_, Eriol smiled to himself. He wanted to know it all. He planned to interrogate her, make her confess everything.

"Why were you so hysteric... back then in Mister Donut cafe?"

Tomoyo pouted. "I _knew_ you would ask that for a start."

"Answer me."

He saw Tomoyo gulp nervously. Her small, pink tongue darted out to wet her dry lips. "I hope you remember your promise, Hiiragizawa."

"Gosh, Daidouji! Just spill them out!"

Sensing his frustration towards her hesitation, Tomoyo raised her hands in defeat. She lowered her voice a bit more until it became loud enough only for Eriol to hear. "Well, " she spoke, her eyes searched his. "I'm allergic to male... of human species."

Eriol blinked. Frozen on his spot.

"You can put it that way, since I believe there's no scientific name for such a stupid allergy." Tomoyo went on, and since a minute had passed without him being able to utter a word, she let out a small laugh. "Really. I didn't expect you to be _this_ shock."

"That wasn't a lie..., was it?"

"Geez, Hiiragizawa. Haven't you seen the proof? After your skin came in contact to mine, my body trembled and I got a sudden high fever, even collapsed in front of your eyes. Don't you see that I'm now lying on your bed, fed, and receiving a good care from Akizuki-san because of my fever? Is that not convincing enough?"

"You learned how to use sarcasm." Eriol commented, finally managed to get back to his normal self.

A pair of amethyst orbs twinkled elegantly. "I dislike reopen old wounds, Hiiragizawa. You can't blame me for being sarcastic."

_Did she just say old wounds?_

"I don't remember you had it the last time we met."

"Eight years ago," Tomoyo still smiled, "everything was still perfectly fine."

Eriol processed this information slowly, and as if someone had turned on a lamp inside his head, the dots seemed to connect themselves. It made sense to him now. "It has something to do with those people who took your mother's company, right?"

She didn't answer right away. "You really are smart, aren't you?"

"I'll take that as a 'yes'."

Knowing that Eriol wouldn't hear a single thing that lead to topic diversion, Tomoyo stopped playing around. "It was Higashitani."

"What?"

"The one who took the Daidouji Manor."

"...and your mother's company?"

"No," she shook her head. "He had friends. They likely took over all of Daidouji assets and each of them got their share. The manor fell into the hand of that Higashitani person. Ah... remember when I told you my mother died last year?"

"Yeah."

"I lied."

Taken aback, he bend his upper body forward a bit more to take a better look at her face. "You did?"

"Yeah. My mom didn't die last year. She died when I was around thirteen—or fourteen."

Eriol listened attentively; he knew she had a lot more to tell.

"And that Higashitani..., he told me shits that I couldn't remember. But I'm sure something was wrong, my mom will never make a cruel decision... they must had tricked her. They tricked me. I was just a junior high school girl back then, so I couldn't do anything. I kept quiet about it, hiding the fact from everyone. I couldn't let my friends come over anymore—and Sakura was the hardest one to handle. She kept asking me why, but I never told her the truth. I thought I might succeeded in keeping my secret, yet I was wrong."

Her eyes turned glassy. Eriol noticed tears started to pool in the corner of her eyes. And he was sure Tomoyo knew it too, because she immediately tilted her head up, staring at the ceiling for awhile even though there was nothing interesting except the white surface. She didn't want him to see her crying.

"What happened?" He asked carefully.

"To make it simple: he tried to rape me." Tomoyo pulled back her hair and let the long, raven locks collected only on her right shoulder. It moved like a dark curtain as she turned her head to Eriol, whose face became so pale from the shock.

"Higashitani?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "him."

It was too much of a confession. Eriol felt his blood boil with anger. He couldn't imagine it. Frankly speaking, he used to think that Daidouji Tomoyo was the last person to get involved in such a... disadvantaging situation. Wait—not 'disadvantaging', it was a total understatement.

Oh whatever. Bugger it.

"And...?"

"Don't worry, Hiiragizawa." Tomoyo chuckled lightly and it made him blush in embarrassment. She knew what he was thinking, indeed. It wasn't hard enough to tell. "I somehow had the tight chance, and before I knew it, my knee went up by its own accord to hit him on his groin. I dashed out of the house and ran, ran, ran... I just kept running, not caring that I didn't have shoes on."

"You ran barefooted?"

She grinned. "Guess my survival instinct got me completely at that moment."

"Then," Eriol straightened his posture, "what occured next?"

"Against my will, my feet brought me to Sakura's house. Her brother opened the door for me and called out to Sakura right up."

"You told Sakura, didn't you?"

A nod. "Actually, I stayed there for a month or so—until graduation. In case of Uncle Fujitaka and Touya-san, I said that the company went bankrupt and all of Daidouji assets were taken by a rival company, included the manor."

Eriol raised his brows. "And they believed you?"

"It was more like... they had figured out the truth," she replied casually. "Because they didn't ask for any further explanation. I was too screwed up to make a good lie."

"You're a bad liar from the start."

"But I felt quite an expert of it whenever I see Sakura lie."

"Anyway," Eriol cleared his throat to prevent their conversation from getting out of topic, "what about your belongings? Clothes, books, shoes..."

"Sakura helped me pick them secretly. I was so scared to get near the manor, not to mention trying to be my normal self again was harder than I thought it would be. She understood my trauma and used her card so we could take my stuffs under Higashitani's nose unnoticed." Tomoyo smiled wickedly, "The Move. She asked the card to bring my belongings from the manor into an empty wardrobe and the task was done in a flash."

"Brilliant," mumbled Eriol.

"And since then, I started to become allergic to men." She finished her explanation, both of her palms met in the air and created a small clapping noise. "If I'm aware that I make contact with male, skin on skin or not, I'll immediately tremble. My heart beats faster, my breath becomes uneven, and by ten or fifteen minutes my body temperature will rise rapidly. Those are the side effects of my 'allergy'."

"_If __you__'__re__ aware __of__ the __contact...?_"

"Yes."

They fell into another round of silence as Eriol did his best to grasp the main cause of her problem. If he wasn't mistaken, what she suffered was no allergy. It was just a kind of aftermath post her psychologically-frightening experience with man. Daidouji Tomoyo was a tough girl. That made her refused to lock herself up and break down, no matter how traumatic things she had gone through. She was also smart enough not to simply hate men. Instead, she turned 'allergic' to them. And even the contact effects were limited further.

She said... unnoticable touch won't hurt her, didn't she?

"How can you be so sure?"

"Nothing happen whenever I'm trapped in the crowd," Tomoyo explained, "neither in the long queue or similar situations. I guess it's because my mind is too preoccupied with other things. It probably makes my allergy completely forgotten."

"Then it's not literally an illness," he deducted.

She just smiled sweetly. "Perhaps. However, I still have to be extra careful in getting along with boys. Turning down their confessions and stuffs... you will be surprised if you find out how many girls despise me, Hiiragizawa. They hate me for being 'such a princess' despite of my current condition."

"But they don't know anything."

Tomoyo let out a small sarcastic laugh. "It can't be helped, Hiiragizawa. Besides... what can outsiders understand?"

She had a point there.

"Bet you have problems in your love life."

When Tomoyo didn't respond to him, Eriol knew he had spoken the wrong thing. "Sorry. I didn't thinking. It was… spontaneously slipped out of my mouth."

She opened her mouth, ready to retort, but after a moment of deliberation she swallowed it down. Instead she said in admittance, "Of course I do."

Eriol looked hesitated. He still had some things he wanted to say (plenty, actually) or to know. However, none of them were safe enough to not be considered as 'prying into personal life'. It took him a full minute to make his decision. And he chose to push his luck a bit further.

"You… never had a boyfriend. Not even once."

It wasn't a question. Tomoyo knew it. Hiiragizawa Eriol could freely invade her mind and glance through her memories, for he was still a powerful sorcerer. If he wasn't doing that to her right now, the fact that he was a smart, young man with strong logic wasn't rebuttable. She didn't seem happy about him being able to read her well like this, but it was much better than to be investigated.

So, Tomoyo nodded. "True."

"And it doesn't bother you."

"I have my own priorities, Hiiragizawa. 'Dating' isn't even in my top 100."

"But you admit that sometimes it feels lonely."

Oh crap. She had to stop him now.

"Hiiragizawa, enough."

There was some dead silence followed. He used the moment to look at her intensely, observing her, reading her, making her shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "God, Tomoyo. You like someone."

Daidouji Tomoyo had predicted that Hiiragizawa Eriol would come to realize it.

And she wasn't happy about it.

**.**

**to be continued.**


	3. Enigmatic Eriol

from **skybluescramble**:

hello!

well... I am afraid that the next update will be quite long (again), since I'm facing examination weeks right now. I'll be busy studying, and it will keep me from writing more for awhile. hope you can understand.

and thanks for your reviews, **Cata06**, **Seirin**, **vedha**, **chiharu-tanaka**, **redeyes143**, **sakuraakamichelle**, and **mochiusagi**, I really appreaciate it. also, for **LemonSherbet** for proofreading this chapter, thanks a lot for your hardwork. _otsukaresama_ :D

enjoy the third chapter!

oh, and please try to leave reviews. let me know what you think ;)

* * *

><p><strong>DISCLAIMER<strong>:

Card Captor Sakura/カードキャップたーさくら

CLAMP©1997

* * *

><p><strong>:: Damsel in Distress, Daidouji ::<strong>

.

.

CHAPTER 03:

**Enigmatic Eriol**

.

COOL breeze played with his hair gently as Hiiragizawa Eriol stood on the rooftop of Tomoeda University, leaning against the guardrail, his set of dark orbs were fixated on Daidouji Tomoyo's small back. The said girl was down below, in the middle yard, talking with a senior from the third year. He could see her giggling—an unmistakable proof that she was enjoying the conversation.

"Nakajima Kouta. Third year, International Business. Above 175 cm, tanned skin, not bulky, but obviously there were muscles under that shirt… I see. Tennis club, eh? Or baseball?" Eriol murmured, taking notes of the guy before Tomoyo. There was still no proof, but her hinted gestures had convinced Eriol that this Nakajima person was the one whom Tomoyo had a crush on. "Nice pick, Daidouji. I must agree."

"…Honestly, catching my master in the act of ogling another man never crossed my mind until today."

Startled, Eriol swiftly turned around. His face reflected relief when he saw a small, black feline features floating in the mid-air, curled tail flapping behind it. "Spinel! You surprised me."

"Losing interest in women already?" mocked Spinel with flat tone. "Ruby Moon must have messed up your taste for a partner, Master. I can guarantee you that."

Eriol smirked, his hand reaching out to pat Spinel's round head. He stroked its jaw lovingly, eliciting a purr from the beast-type guardian. "It's not like that. By the way, what brings you here, Spinel? Are you bored?"

"You forgot your wallet."

For the first time since he had realized Spinel was there, Eriol noticed a square-shaped object wrapped securely between its front paws. He grinned.

"Thanks, Spinel. May I treat you lunch?"

It was a rhetorical question, of course. Spinel Sun wasn't fond of eating. It was a total opposite of the earlier Sun Guardian, Cerberus, who seemed to always go nuts everytime it laid eyes on foods and sweets.

"No, Master. I'm fine."

* * *

><p>"CAN'T you, Hiiragizawa, just for this matter, leave me alone?" Sighing in exasperation, Daidouji Tomoyo glared up to the old friend in front of her, hands gripping her binder notes tight. "So what if you have figured out who—" she lowered her voice since there were some people passing by, "—who I like? Tease me? Mock me? Because it's likely that I will never succeed in romance? Go ahead. But I don't have time to pay attention to your mocking."<p>

Eriol blinked. "Tomoyo, you're overreacting."

"It's true I'm PMSing today. But I'm still me." She snapped. "I don't like people digging into my personal business."

It was almost the end of lunch break when Eriol coincidentally met Tomoyo in cafeteria. He called after her and said that they needed to talk. She didn't object at first, but after it was revealed that he wanted to discuss about her peculiar allergy and inability to have a romantic relationship, Tomoyo became uncooperative. Out of the blue.

"You're just embarrassed because I know your secret." Eriol pointed out in a matter of fact, now turning exasperated as well. He watched her rigid facial expression while silently guessing how she would react.

"I should have known better than to spill them out to you."

"Why don't you let me explain? I just want to help."

"Help who?" hissed Tomoyo under her breath. "Me, so I can be free from this stupid allergy?"

"Yes."

Raising her head, she let those pair of amethyst orbs wandered along his face. Studying him. Hoping that he would crack up smirking and tell her he was joking, but he wouldn't. Eriol stared back at her with seriousness which made heat creep up to her cheeks.

"How? Using your magic power? Thanks, Hiiragizawa, but no. I don't want to take advantage of you."

Eriol nearly smiled at her comment. The corner of his lips cringed in a weird way because he did his best to suppress it. Oh come on… if someone did take advantage from other people, it would be him.

"Now, if you excuse me…"

"No, wait!" Reflexively, Eriol grasped her forearm when he saw her starting to walk out on him. He was getting impatient with her obnoxious behavior. But suddenly, he was very aware of the smooth skin under his palm. He glanced at Tomoyo, who froze on her ground and did not dare making a single move. Beads of cold sweat began slithering down her throat, her temple, her back. A shrill of familiar goosebumps hit her nape.

Tomoyo swallowed hard.

"Shit, the symptoms…" cursed Eriol, raking his hair with those long and slender fingers.

* * *

><p>INFIRMARY.<p>

"38. 7°C."

Eriol sighed. He stared at the digital thermometer before turning to Tomoyo. She lay helplessly on the mattress, silently thanking God for letting the infirmary be totally empty when they got there. Of course, not having checked by the doctor was a pity, but she guessed she could endure the pain as long as she wasn't questioned by other people. Tomoyo placed one of her hand against her forehead in an attempt to reduce the amount of sunlight hitting her eyes, mouth hanging open slightly.

"Are your fevers always _this _high?"

"Sometimes," she breathed, "mostly when I get emotional."

Eriol looked down at her. "You didn't have to act like I'm a germ." His tone was calm, but his words stung. It caused Tomoyo to look away; she knew she had been a bitch minutes ago. She shivered a little when something cold came in contact with her skin and reflexively she tried to shift away.

"Don't move," he said. "It's just the ice cube."

She fell silent and watched him work. It mesmerized her how every motion he made was precise, efficient, calculated yet elegant at the same time. He also carefully not to touch her skin. She watched as he neatly folded a small towel, dipped it into a bowl of cold water and, with questioning eyes, asked her.

"May I?"

Tomoyo gave a weak nod.

But that was the only thing he needed to know.

Gently, Eriol wiped the towel onto her neck and arms. He did it carefully and Tomoyo felt herself began to relax. Perhaps it wasn't so bad trusting him to treat her…

"Do you always trust other people this easily?"

Tomoyo grimaced. She disliked her peaceful silence to be disturbed abruptly. It caused her head to hurt slightly, but she answered to him anyway. "No. I don't really have a choice right now."

"You're right," he mumbled. "Aren't you afraid I take advantage of the situation?"

"Sakura will kill you for me."

"Will she?"

"Her love for me is much bigger than her respect for you. I can guarantee that."

Eriol chuckled. "You are interesting."

"It's a pity that you didn't know that sooner." Tomoyo spat. "Please stop making me talk, Hiiragizawa. My head gets dizzy."

He flipped the towel on her forehead and cleared his throat. "Well, if that's the case… why don't we continue our discussion here? I didn't have a chance to explain my intention, thanks to all your interruptions. I can be the only one talking, you just have to listen."

"Do as you please."

Tomoyo closed her eyes shut to block out the sunlight from the window. She could hear Eriol shifted on his seat.

"Frankly speaking, I found it quite pitiful of you not to be able to experience romantic relationships. You're only young once, Tomoyo. You should have some fun. Create more memories. Yet, unfortunately, that stupid allergy of yours seems to border you." He said flatly. With eyes closed, Tomoyo couldn't tell whether he was serious or not.

And it bothered her.

"You aren't making fun of me, are you?"

"No."

"Then go on."

"Like I said, I want to offer you some help."

"How?"

"Getting rid of your allergy."

"I heard it, but _how?_"

"We'll make your body immune to all attacks."

That was his only reply, but Tomoyo felt all blood drained from her face as this information sank into her brain, which immediately interpreted its hidden meaning. She grew more horrified when Eriol added, "Don't worry. I'm not interested in you. But since I'm the only male species close enough to you who knows this little secret… I feel somehow responsible to make you normal again. Well, in case you wish to be a normal girl like the others."

"A-are you saying I'm abnormal?"

"Don't you think you are?"

_Jerk_.

"There's no need to rub it on my face—"

"I thought you said that you don't feel like talking."

"_You_ make me!"

"I don't," Eriol asserted, "and we're going out of topic."

Tomoyo huffed. "There's no way I will follow your plan."

"Is that a refusal?"

"Yes."

Eriol smirked. He rose up from his chair and walked around the small infirmary, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Is it really okay? That Nakajima Kouta guy is quite famous among the senior girls, you know. He seems to like you, though, but your chance can slip away anytime… if you keep rooted in the back line."

Her eyes shot open. "How did you know about Nakajima-senpai?"

"Oh, I know a lot more than you think I do." He teased. "And if I'm not mistaken, I had told you that I figured out whom you have your crush to."

Tomoyo groaned. "…and I thought it was only a bluff."

He smirked even wider. Slouching down on the swivel chair and turning around to face her with legs crossed, Eriol noticed how she watched him closely. "I'm surprised you didn't know that I never bluff."

"Well," said Tomoyo while trying to cover a pink streak across her cheeks, "I have a vague idea about your plan and I think I'll go against it..."

Eriol chuckled. "If you don't like my plan, then I guess you get it right."

Her eyes widened. Tomoyo propped her full body weight onto her left arm as she made a sitting attempt. She felt incredibly annoyed when the London guy in front of her didn't budge at all, letting her do the work alone.

"Won't you help me?" Tomoyo asked with gritted teeth. Her sight was unfocused because of the dizziness in her head, but there was no way she would let him know.

"No," said Eriol curtly.

Her heart clenched. That kind of answer surprisingly hurt.

"You'll get another round of allergy," he added seconds later, and Tomoyo wondered why relief washed over her feelings after knowing his reason. Casually leaning against the back of the swivel chair, Eriol reached out his hand to take a pen from the nurse's desk, twirling it effortlessly between his fingers. "So? I want to know how you interpret my plan."

Her face went red in a flash.

"I suppose...," she began, "it will involve a lot of—" she swallowed hard, "—touching?"

"Exactly." The pen was pointed towards her as he said the word in an affirmative way. Eriol stood up and made to approach to her, fingers still busy twirling that pen, before bending down to level his eyes with hers. Tomoyo clutched the sheet tightly until her knuckles were white; she didn't want him spotting her nervous. "We'll make you get used to it."

"I thought I told you that I oppose."

Surprisingly, blurting those two words out loud was far more difficult than Tomoyo thought. His sharp gaze penetrating hers almost got her stuttering, and the close proximity between them didn't help either. But the nervousness was quickly replaced with annoyance when she saw a smug smirk across his face. It was his silent expression of giving her a _you-will-regret-turning-down-my-offer_ kind of message.

"Oh, did you?" teased him.

Tomoyo felt stupid out of the blue. She had been right. He was only playing around. She braced herself to confront his face and spoke, firm and clear, "You heard me. Tell you what, I don't get why I should eliminate this damn allergy to be able to have a boyfriend. There's must be somebody who can accept me unconditionally."

_Nice __remark_, she inwardly complimented herself. Tomoyo almost smiled in triumph, had it not been for a pity look she spotted on his handsome feature.

"My, my, Daidouji Tomoyo." Eriol shook his head, "You do know the word 'love', don't you?"

She blinked in confusion. "What?"

"So you don't? According to Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, seventh edition, it is '_a __strong __feeling __of __affection __for __somebody __that __you __are __sexually __attracted __to_'. Helen Fisher, one of leading experts in the topic of love also divided the experience of it into three partly overlapping stages called lust, attraction, and attachment. And in the 1970s, an American psychologist named Zick Rubin used psychometrics only to find out that there are three factors constitute love: attachment, caring, and intimacy."

Tomoyo was dumbfounded. "I don't—"

"It means," Eriol went on, completely ignoring her, "when you fall in love with somebody, you'll grow desire towards them as well. And this works vice versa. You just can't help it. There will be moments when you want to be hugged, to be touched, to be able to show your affection by physical contacts. It's in our primal sense as a living being. A relationship without some intimacy won't make anybody happy, whether it's you or your partner."

Her eyes widened in disbelief when she spotted a hint of sadness behind his sapphire orbs. Although she was already loss at words from all his lecturing, the split-second of sad look she caught on him made her wonder about what had actually happened to Hiiragizawa Eriol in the past eight years.

"I…," Tomoyo paused, struggling with words, "…I still do not accept. Whatsoever."

Eriol threw his meaningful smile at her. "Oh, don't be so sure, Tomoyo. You will think over it. Take your time."

* * *

><p>A WEEK had passed since Eriol proposed his offer to her, and much to her displeasure, that damn prompting bugged her brain mercilessly, wherever, whenever. Not to mention all the people in the world stopped her from forgetting that damn conversation; Tomoyo had bumped into dozens of couples in the middle of their making-out sessions for the past seven days, and if she didn't, all of a sudden she became painfully aware of the number of lovebirds walked in the campus holding hands.<p>

It was starting to get on her nerves.

"Tomoyo-chan, are you okay? You look terrible. "

Kinomoto Sakura slouched down on an empty chair at the other end of the small dining table in the cafeteria, examining her best friend—and cousin—with concern. She then raised the huge cup of bubble ice she was sipping. "Want some? It'll make you feel better."

"Thanks," said Tomoyo gratefully.

The cold liquid cooled her down in no time as it washed over her dry throat. Handing the cup back to Sakura, Tomoyo gathered up her books that scattered all over the table surface with a sheepish grin across her face. "Sorry. I'm not myself today…"

"—and for the whole week." Sakura cut her up. "Tomoyo-chan, there must have been something that you keep from me. You are being strange. Even Syaoran notices. You often change direction abruptly when you walk as though spotting a ghost wander around, daze a lot, sigh a lot, have a blank look on your face a lot, also—"

This time was Tomoyo's turn to interrupt the Card Mistress. "Okay, I get it. Maybe I've acted quite unusual recently. But, Sakura-chan, I am fine. Healthy and happy. You hear me? I'm okay. It's really nothing important."

"It's something unimportant that you hide from me, then. I won't believe even if you say nothing happened," she said stubbornly, placing the now empty bubble ice cup onto their table. Still, when she caught a glance of Li Syaoran approaching them from distant, Sakura seemed to forget her talk with Tomoyo and eagerly waved out her hand. "Ah, Syaoran! Here, here!"

The raven-haired Daidouji rolled her eyes. She just ended up in between another lovey-dovey couple again, and to make thing worse—as if it wasn't bad enough already—, this one was nearly unavoidable. Poor her.

**.**

**to be continued.**


	4. Dealing with the Devil

from **skybluescramble**:

hi friends (:

thanks for everyone who left reviews: **Shanaa12**, **James**** Birdsong**, **Cata06**, **redeyes143**, **sakuraakamichelle**, and **chiharu-tanaka**. I know this story is rather slow in being updated, but I'll try my best to finish it.

and I owed my beta-reader, **Lemon**** Sherbet**, big time. thanks for fixing up the mess I made, dear. hahaha~

enjoy. and please leave review.

* * *

><p><strong>DISCLAIMER<strong>:

Card Captor Sakura/カードキャップたーさくら

CLAMP©1997

* * *

><p><strong>:: Damsel in Distress, Daidouji ::<strong>

**.**

**.**

CHAPTER 04:

**Dealing with the Devil**

**.**

"DAIDOUJI-SAN!"

Pivoting on her heels, Tomoyo caught a glimpse of a tall, young man waving his hand to her direction before jogging closer. She smiled at him and greeted politely, "Good morning, Nakajima-senpai."

"Ah," Nakajima Kouta grinned, unconsciously rubbing the back of his head. "Morning. Nice weather today, isn't it?"

She nodded, eyes wandering up and down, noting the appearance of him. He was clad in a pair of black jeans, topped by a long-sleeved shirt rolled up to his elbow and a waistcoat. Pretty decent, she had to admit. They walked together in a comfortable silence for awhile until Tomoyo remembered that she should ask why he called out for her.

"Actually, I didn't know why."

Tomoyo turned her head in surprise. "Eh?"

Did she say her thoughts out loud? No, no, no. She had been keeping her mouth shut as from they started walking, and she could guarantee that. Probably Nakajima was just thinking about the same thing as her.

"I didn't know why I called you earlier." Nakajima gave her a sheepish smile. "Well—I saw you walk by from distance," he paused, "…and suddenly I felt like I had to talk to you."

They had stopped walking. They were now standing under a big, birch tree, feeling the morning breeze blow past them while it played with her long hair. Tomoyo was a bit surprised at his honest confession, but, as a Daidouji, she couldn't let outsiders know they get her flabbergasted. Then, with such an expertise, she smiled back at him and spoke, "I feel honored, Sen—"

"KOUTA-KUN!"

What?

Tomoyo nearly jumped back like a startled rabbit at the loud voice. She instinctively glanced at the source of the noise, precisely when another girl appeared out of nowhere beside Nakajima and casually linked her arm with his—Tomoyo flinched at the action—, pretending as if Tomoyo wasn't there.

"I'm looking for you!" That girl pouted, her eyelashes seemed heavy with mascara when she batted them. "Why don't you reply my mails?"

Nakajima seemed troubled. "I haven't checked my cell-phone since morning. And you are too close, Amane. Move aside."

"It's back to 'Amane', then? Kouta-kun, you don't have to be so shy."

Feeling so stupid, Tomoyo froze on her ground. She blinked and blinked again, lips slightly parted but she couldn't form any coherent words despite of how hard she raked her brain. This situation was completely unexpected. Okay, she had heard that Nakajima-senpai was clearly popular among girls (just as what that prat named Hiiragizawa Eriol stated to her last week), but to be interrupted by one of them like this…

It was unbelievable.

Did the senior girls really compete to win him? She knew he didn't have a girlfriend… yet, and that meant all girls had the same chance as her. Wasn't there supposed to be some kind of unstated rules to have a fair play? For instance, not butting in when a girl tried to have some friendly chat with him.

"Ah. So, you're talking to her?" Eventually, Amane decided to drop off her pretense of not recognizing Tomoyo, her voice sounded half-hearted. She scanned her brown eyes on Tomoyo in an examining fashion and flashed a challenging look. "My, my. What a surprise. Miss Prim and Proper, Daidouji Tomoyo? I've heard some rumors about you are floating around."

"Seira!" warned Nakajima, but Amane simply brushed it off.

"Why, Kouta-kun? Surely you don't fall for her, do you?" Amane confronted boldly. "This girl doesn't deserve you anyway. Rejecting all men who confessed to her for no reason after letting them got their hopes up… what a bitch. Tell you what, Kouta-kun? Forget her. She will only toy with your feelings."

Tomoyo was far too shock to say anything to defend herself. She stayed rooted on her feet as Amane dragged Nakajima away, completely ignoring his sound of protests.

"Oh! By the way, Daidouji," Amane spoke again, turning to look at her stunned figure for the last time with a broad, cunning smile, "nice to meet you."

And suddenly someone's quote came to her, snapping her mind out of its trance.

_He__ seems __to __like __you,__though,__but__ your__ chance__ can__ slip__ away__ anytime__… __if__ you__ keep__ rooted__ in__ the__ back__line_.

Damn that Hiiragizawa.

* * *

><p>HER amethyst orbs swept around the crowded cafeteria, seeking for any signal of a certain young sorcerer inside. Frankly speaking, Eriol wasn't someone who was difficult to find. He always had that kind of aristocratic aura around him which caused people to feel respect, admiration, and strangely, fear, and he also had a tendency to sit in the corner alone while enjoying his meals. She could usually spot him right away. Moreover, sometimes he was surrounded by people who seemed to like discussing things with him—well, Tomoyo had to admit that Eriol was undoubtedly smart and a know-it-all.<p>

But today, Tomoyo ended her searching effort in disappointment.

"Tomoyo?"

Oh, speak of the devil.

Eriol was right behind her, hand holding a tray filled with his lunch and, to Tomoyo's utmost surprise, was standing side by side with Li Syaoran, whose facial expression was only as confused as the young sorcerer on his left. Just two of them. Without Sakura. Her jaw dropped automatically. "Hi, Li-kun. You too, Hiiragizawa," she added quickly, wishing her slightly shaky voice didn't catch his ear. "It's a bit… astounding to see you both are getting along."

"I'm just being civil," the Chinese boy snorted. He was undeniably bothered by her misunderstanding. "We're kind of calling a truce for a few hours today."

"Sorry if we make you down, Tomoyo. But nothing had changed between us. We're going to discuss something… private."

Eriol had thrown the bait. Having known her personality too well, he expected she would soon ask them another question. It was just in her nature. His eyes glowed in amusement when they surveyed her gesture. He couldn't help not to let a crooked smile forming across his feature as she finally spoke up, head tilted to the side with a quizzical look. "What's so important until you boys need to discuss it behind Sakura's back?"

"Curiosity killed the cat, Tomoyo." Eriol said whimsically. "You must know that sometimes, ignorance is bliss."

Tomoyo knew she had lost this debate. She bitterly resented feeling dumb whenever she dealt with him. How did he manage to win every argument they shared? Where had the polite, gentle, sweet-talker, old Hiiragizawa gone to? Was it just her, or this new him was utterly despicable?

_I__ need__ to __change__ the__ topic_, she thought.

"Actually, I came here to see you. We have something to discuss… privately."

Tomoyo meant it as sarcasm, by reciting over the words they used upon her earlier, yet clearly, she didn't expect the side-effect it might cause. There was a cracking noise; Syaoran had just broken the edge of his tray, his nostrils flared dangerously. In a split-second, Tomoyo realized her mistake and added to whomever's sake, "I cannot understand some points in today's class, so I hope you can teach me… or do something about it."

She knew she was a bad liar.

So did Eriol.

But, wonderfully, that cheap trick seemed to work on Syaoran. His stiffened body relaxed again, and he even asked, "You're sharing classes?"

"Just a few," replied Eriol lightly. "One or two."

Syaoran looked pleased with his answer. "Oh."

Eriol glanced at Tomoyo, who started biting on her lower lip—it was a habitual action whenever she felt uncomfortable or anxious—before shrugging his broad shoulder casually as though he didn't give a damn at her problem. "I'm busy right now, sorry. You'll have to wait until after the last period is over. My schedule for today is quite tight I can't even spare some minutes to go to the rooftop for a nap."

It was only a made-up story, she was perfectly sure. Nonetheless, Tomoyo noted a clue slipped between those words: _rooftop_.

He would meet her there after the last period.

Decoding had never been this easy.

* * *

><p>ERIOL was lying on the flat surface of the rooftop when Tomoyo arrived. His arms propped under his head like a pillow, eyes closed, and she almost—<em>almost<em>—came to a conclusion that he was fast asleep, had it not been for him opening his mouth to break the silence between them. "What made you change your mind?"

It was a blatant question which caused her cheeks to turn pink a little, but Tomoyo continued to make determined steps towards him. "Your theory proves you right. I need this stupid allergy to be gone. Forever."

He let out a crisp laugh. "You've decided to join the open competition at last?"

"It's not just about Nakajima-senpai!" Rather irritated, she stomped over. Her mood wasn't good enough today and to have Eriol made her it worse was the last thing she wanted. Desperately trying to control her spiteful remark which threatened on the edge of her tongue, she breathed deeply while tilting up her head to look at the open sky.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale again.

Her annoyance subsided. Good. One who suggested to the others to take a long breath when they needed calming down for the first time possibly didn't know that he, or she, had created a postulate. No matter how furious people were, when they spared a few seconds to just breathe properly, it felt as though their rage was gone the moment their lungs released carbon dioxide into the air.

"I want...," she hesitated, "I want to stop those idiotic rumors. I'm starting to feel sick of them."

Eriol didn't reply right away. Tomoyo used this opportunity to scoot closer to him and sat on his left, carefully tucked the hem of her lightweight skirt under her legs so that it was safe from the attack of the afternoon breeze.

"I've heard some." He confessed, "And none of them sounds complimenting."

"Obviously it is!"

She shot him a glare—the one that said "I will kill you if you're going to make fun of me today"—but her lips were pressed tightly, forming a thin line which, virtually, was no more than a defiance of her silent cry. Eriol noticed this and finally got up to sit with her; the space between them was around sixty centimeters, possibly longer.

"I mean what I said, Tomoyo." He looked straight at her as he sat up, his every good intention reflected in his eyes. With brows knitted, Tomoyo studied him, mesmerized with this sudden behavior. And out of her will, she began to feel guilty for speaking in a harsh tone moments ago.

"So many people get it wrong. I'm not that prissy," she said tiredly.

Eriol seemed pretty interested. "I thought you don't give it a damn. True, those rumors are awful, but I was under impression that you don't care at all."

Tomoyo frowned. "At first, yes."

And then she told him everything. The detailed version of today's incident involving her, Nakajima Kouta, and a bitch called Amane Seira (Tomoyo nearly forgot about her name—who in the world was she, anyway?), who appeared from nowhere only to ruin her moments with him. Oh, and that provocation! She could understand this Amane person's jealousy, but to tell him such a wrong issue under her nose was crossing the line.

"What if Nakajima-senpai takes it seriously and our relationship is ruined?"

Eriol looked amused. "What relationship?"

"Our friendship, Hiiragizawa." She quickly replied. "Friendship _is_ a kind of relationship, after all."

Tomoyo knew she sounded pathetic. But, oh, to hell with it!

"So, what are you going to do?" asked Eriol as his chin rested on both hands. This time, he was honestly asking her without any hidden intention. He had decided to go along with her pace. "If you're so bothered with it, why didn't you just go see him and make things right? What does this matter have to do with me?"

She shook her head. "No. I want all people to know that I don't treat men like germs."

Eriol almost laughed. "But, in fact, you do."

"I don't, Hiiragizawa." Tomoyo snarled, teeth gritted in obnoxious feeling.

"Oh, really? To tell you the truth, my dear old friend, Daidouji Tomoyo-san, when you're with me—and also whenever another male tries to have some talk to you—you often jump back slightly if I become a little too close to your liking, or pretend not seeing anything if someone wants to shake your hands." His explanation was long and merciless; it left Tomoyo sit thunderstruck, eye-widened. "In normal people's dictionary, that's what called as '_treating__ men__ like__ bacteria_'. It's only natural if you don't realize it," he cut in even before she fully opened her mouth to speak, "because I think it's just your autopilot, an unconscious act of defense to prevent the allergy."

Tomoyo bit her lips. "Is that so…?"

"I've predicted that the allergy will cause trouble. It must be gotten rid of."

"Whatever." She huffed loudly whilst throwing both hands to the air. "I can't think anymore. I guess I'd like to follow your plan, Hiiragizawa. Just cure me. Make me what you call 'normal'. I'll be a good girl who does not complain."

Eriol clearly didn't expect this coming from her mouth. "Whoa, whoa. Wait a minute, Tomoyo. What's with the sudden change of heart?"

The raven-haired girl shrugged nonchalantly without saying anything.

"You're desperate," he chased. "You do not want Nakajima having a bad impression on you."

For a moment, there was silence between them.

Then, "Perhaps."

She whispered so low until it was almost impossible for Eriol to hear her.

"Do you like him that much?" His gaze was slowly turned investigative. Tomoyo turned her head to look at him and—noticing the way he stared at her—pouted.

"To me, he is more like a good partner for discussing any topics than someone whom I grow a crush on. But if you insist on asking me whether I like him or not… then _yes_." She was glad her voice sounded convincing and didn't falter at all. At a time like this, she needed to be sure with herself. Having a crush on someone was different from falling in love with him, that was what she always believed. The first one was less painful. Not too many emotions involved. If one day she found out that her feeling was one-sided, it became easier to move on.

"By the way, Hiiragizawa. I have one thing which bugs me for some time." Tomoyo spoke again, searching his eyes. "Despite of how hard I think for an answer, I just cannot understand why you are suddenly willing to help me out of this problem."

She spotted his eyed flickered when they met hers, his trademark smile (the ambiguous one; a smile which looked sweet and tender, yet frightening and mysterious at the same time) resurfaced as he responded to her statement. "I'll allow you to keep guessing."

What Eriol did next caused Tomoyo to have a sharp intake of breath. Smile changing into a wide smirk, he reached out a hand and swiped his palm along her exposed forearm in a swift motion, successfully leaving a tingling sensation on her skin.

"Lesson one: overcoming an unintentional contact. Your therapy had begun, Daidouji Tomoyo-san. Do your best."

Within her heart familiar shivers provoked it until it was beating faster and stronger. Tomoyo silently hoped that someone would wish her good luck.

**.**

**to be continued.**


	5. Versus

from **skybluescramble**:

ehm, long time no see.

i apologize for the very late update, but here is the thing: i am going to take a national examination for high school students soon and it's getting difficult to slip writing fictions into my schedule. to make things worse, some data of this fic got infected with a virus and had to be deleted to save my other documents (which means i have to rewrite them). this one may not be updated fast, but please believe that i will not let it be discontinued.

thanks for your reviews: **Cata06**, **whathappenedtotruelove**, **Shanaa12**, **Seirin**, **vedha**, **James** **Birdsong**, **sakuraakamichelle**, **redeyes143**, **cheng**, **chiharu-tanaka**, **Tommy-yomz**, **bitesizedallyx3**, and **UQ**.

also, my beta-reader **Lemon Sherbet** :)

enjoy the chapter!

* * *

><p><strong>DISCLAIMER<strong>:

Card Captor Sakura/カードキャップたーさくら

CLAMP©1997

* * *

><p><strong>:: Damsel in Distress, Daidouji ::<strong>

**.**

**.**

CHAPTER 05:

**Versus**

**.**

FIXING the messy bun behind her head with a long hairpin, Tomoyo tried her best to focus on the lines written in her textbook. In front of her were more books stacked in two high piles, some of them seemed extraordinarily thick and heavy. Her finger traced a particular line on page eighty-three, and as she nodded in understanding her hand fetched a pencil from its case before scribbling down some notes. The library she was in was full of people due to the examination week coming up. Even Sakura, who barely visited library since her Elementary days was bugging Tomoyo to accompany her.

"Come on, Tomoyo-chan. You know it very well that I'm not familiar with difficult books." She reasoned.

"But, Sakura-chan, you just need to pick some which are related to your study."

However, it ended up like this. She busied herself behind book after book, barely paying any attention to anyone else as she made additional notes which she thought were important. Meanwhile, her sweet cousin was on the other corner of the library, whispering with her classmates.

"You don't look too good today."

A voice greeted her. Not loud enough to create a noticeable noise, but quite clear for her to hear. Without looking up, Tomoyo studied a pair of shoes which made an approach to her. A sour smile appeared on her lips.

"What do you expect from someone who had three rounds of high fever yesterday?" Tomoyo answered while keeping her tone sweet and polite in spite of the sharp glare she threw to her visitor. "And who do you think was the cause of it, Hiiragizawa?"

"Was it me?"

Oh, how she longed to wipe off that smug grin on his face.

"Don't bother putting on your innocent mask in front of me," she smiled at him dangerously. "It won't work."

Eriol pulled another chair beside Tomoyo. "But I am, Tomoyo. I'm an innocent, caring, good guy who wants to help his childhood friend get out of the circle of an embarrassing allergy. You must have misjudged me."

Her hand brushed her bangs away as she let out a tired sigh. Suddenly Tomoyo found that it was impossible continuing her study. Not when he was here. Closing the textbook shut she was working on, she piled it with the others and made a mental note to borrow them today. Then she only had to handle this young mage. "What do you want?"

Perhaps her voice sounded more exasperated than she wanted it to be. Or she was too loud. Or both, because almost everyone around her turned their head and hissed "Sssshh!" with a face. Tomoyo bowed her head guiltily and then glared one more time at Eriol. To her upmost annoyance, he just shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm behaving fine," he mumbled. "It's you who gave an unpleasant feedback."

He had a point. Damn.

"Sorry." Tomoyo apologized half-heartedly; this time she was careful to keep the volume under control. She hated it when things turned out like she was playing the bad role. The genuine smile on his face, however, showed her that she had been forgiven.

"Are you being over-sensitive to me because you feel uncomfortable with the fact that I'm the only one who knows your big secret?"

Practically, it was.

But her answer was, "I don't know."

"Would you prefer me to tell everyone?"

"You wouldn't dare. I'd send you to your death."

The sweet intonation combined with threatening glare was a new game they both liked to play (yet neither wanted to admit). Sometimes Tomoyo wondered since when their form of friendship changed. Was it since—

"Ah! I never expect to meet you here, Daidouji-san."

That voice.

She had only heard it once, but it left a strong impression on her. A nasal voice which she silently hoped would never hear again. Her eyes remained fixed on the ground, looking closely at the newcomer's feet before darting an inspecting look upwards, in an excruciatingly slow motion.

When her purple orbs met their opponent, Tomoyo did her best not to wince.

She was facing Amane Seira of all people.

Crap.

Deciding to treat her with courtesy, Tomoyo made a bowing gesture with her head. "Good afternoon, Amane-senpai."

"You remembered my name?" Amane gleamed. "I'm so happy!"

"I-it's not something big—"

"—That's what you expect me to say, isn't it?"

"Pardon me?"

Being cut off like that left her speechless. Tomoyo was more dumbfounded when she saw the kind smile which was initially formed on Amane's face began to fade and was replaced by a cruel, satisfied smirk as she looked down at her with arms crossed. Without paying attention to Eriol, who thoroughly watched her every single movement from his seat, Amane walked up to Tomoyo's direction until their shoes almost touching.

"How unfortunate. I'm not that kind to say such things, especially to you."

Amane had spoken it cheerfully, flashing Tomoyo a wide smile as if they were good friends. She then glanced aside, eyes glinting when she found Eriol sitting beside Tomoyo. Her smirk reappeared. It seemed Amane Seira often substituted smiles with smirks, because every time she smirked, it always brought up a different impression. Tomoyo wasn't quite a hypocrite, yet she was confident to understand what the actual meaning behind those words Amane said.

"And I see that you'd already gotten yourself a replacement for Kouta," she contorted, swiftly turning her head to look at Eriol. "Be careful, handsome lad there. I bet this girl will only shove you off once she's done."

With a wicked grin she turned around and disappeared in between bunch of people standing up near the rack. Tomoyo huffed, a hand reaching up to brush her bangs away while the other one rested on the hips. Her exasperated visage caught Eriol's attention.

"Flirt." She grumbled.

Eriol looked at Tomoyo in awe. "Whoa, whoa… I can smell a war here."

"I won't fight against her, Hiiragizawa, sorry for that. I can't waste my precious time on someone like… like—" she struggled for words, since it wasn't in her nature to curse, swear, or calling someone with an appropriate name, "—like her."

He raised a brow. "So, she is not one of the reasons which caused you to suddenly change your mind?"

"As if!"

She began to pack her things and picked up some books she wanted to borrow. "But I personally think it would be nice imagining her shut that mouth up once she hears I've got a boyfriend. And, in this case, it has to be Nakajima-senpai." She looked at Eriol with daring eyes, challenging him to protest, and when he said nothing, she went on. "I just cannot bear the image of them becoming a couple. She doesn't deserve him."

"And you do?" In a strange kind of way, Eriol found this circumstance had become more interesting.

Tomoyo shot him a glare. "At least," she breathed, chin up in stubbornness, "I will never do things like she just did to me."

"But for starters," Eriol stood up from his chair, stepping closer to her with hands shoved in his pants' pocket, "you need to get over this."

And without warning, he snaked an arm around her shoulder, making her drop all those heavy tomes she had in her embrace with a loud thud.

* * *

><p>SEIJYOU University's dormitory. Room 154.<p>

"Sakura-chan, I'm sorry. I have so many assignments that need to be done by tomorrow, so I can't have dinner with your family today. I'm so sorry. Yeah, of course, we can reschedule it anytime. Tell Uncle Fujitaka. Touya-san and Kero-chan I miss them. It's unfortunate, really. I love you, too. See you tomorrow."

_Click_.

Snapping her phone shut, Tomoyo took a deep breath. Really, wasn't lying when she told her cousin about the piling assignment, but the main reason of her being unable to come over for dinner was this damned fever she was having right now. She touched the cooling strip plastered on her forehead and sighed; whoever invented this thing was a genius. It was so convenient. Maybe she could get her homework done on time.

"Don't push yourself too hard, you know."

She turned around, glaring at a young man in the small section of her room near the washstand—where she usually brushed her teeth or washed her face—which magically had been turned into a mini-kitchen. He was wearing her white apron (the one she used to wear in high school for the cooking class) and busy making something which, to her annoyance, smelled good.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, suddenly feeling so stupid for questioning something obvious. "And what the hell is it with this kitchen? What did you do to my room?"

"Can't you see I'm cooking?" he replied, expertly flipping the omelet to avoid overcooking on one side. "I see you don't have a kitchen, so I just made you one."

"Don't do things as you please!" Tomoyo groaned in frustration. "Sorry if I disappoint you for not having a kitchen, but this is not my own place, you know. This is a dorm room. The smallest one, to be exact."

"I can figure out that much, thanks."

"Hiiragizawa Eriol…"

Oh, that warning tone.

"Yes?"

She rolled her eyes, slumping down onto a big pillow, hands up in defeat. "Whatever. You're not listening."

Eriol had escorted her from the library this afternoon after successfully evoking her allergy. She let him do that because he was too persistent and the fever prevented her from debating with him (her head would get dizzy due to the rising temper). The thought of hers that he would leave right after they arrived in front of the dorm building was gravely mistaken. Instead, he stayed. He cleaned up the room while she was slouching down to the mattress quietly, giving her scalp a gentle massage in a hope that it would help subside the headache. He was the one who plastered the cooling strip onto her forehead, and then, he even cooked for her after using his power to create her a kitchen.

Perhaps Eriol had gone mental.

If he wasn't, then he just didn't have anything else to do.

"It's not that I don't appreciate your help, Hiiragizawa." Tomoyo spoke again, carefully choosing over her words so that it wouldn't sound rude. "But… I think, you'd better go home soon. It's almost seven-thirty. Akizuki-san and Spinel must be worried."

He chuckled. "Why, Tomoyo? I'm the last person on earth people can be worried about. I can get lost in the middle of Amazon rainforest for weeks and get out of it alive. Whenever I need their help, I can always send them a message telepathically. They will appear before my eyes by the next moment."

Tomoyo bit her lower lip hard, fighting off the temptation to retort. Sometimes this young magician was no more than an over-confident prick.

"How do you manage your daily meals when you don't even have a kitchen?"

"There are reasons why convenient stores sell lunch boxes and rice balls, you know."

His brows rose. "That's it?"

"Yes."

"Everyday?"

"Yes, why do you care anyway? And stop talking, Hiiragizawa, I need to work on my ass."

He gave her an amused look. "Your ass?"

"You git. Assignment, I mean."

"That can wait. Your dinner is ready."

Tomoyo felt her mouth water when Eriol placed a big bowl of hot risotto on the table (she immediately clean off the narrow wooden surface with one sweep of her hand; papers and pencils fell down to the floor). When was the last time she had eaten a proper meal? Oh yeah, last month, thanks to Sakura inviting her to celebrate Touya's birthday.

"Dig in." He said, but Tomoyo didn't need to be told twice. She picked up her spoon and began to eat with such enthusiasm. It was still hot, of course; her throat burnt when she swallowed down the first spoonful. She felt his gaze on her, that lad must have laughed hard inwardly seeing her eat like a pig. Not that she cared, anyway. Tomoyo had decided that she could just be shameless in front of Eriol. After her top secret had been discovered by him, what else might be worse?

"I cannot let you eat convenient store's rice balls everyday," he spoke as he watched her enjoying the risotto.

"In the case of eating habits, I'm not taking orders from you."

"If you want to continue this allergy-riddance training, you must eat well. According to my calculation, you will have fevers more often from now on."

Tomoyo frowned. She hated the fact that Eriol was always right. She was an intelligent student, yet she was the one suffering loss whenever they had an argument about something. It infuriated her.

"I don't have money for such extravagant lifestyle—AAAH!"

Abruptly, she jolted up, eyes wide as though she had remembered something so important. And then she frantically looked around, attempting to find her cell-phone, almost tripping on her binder notes lay opened on the wooden floor. "God, I forgot about my part-time work! What time is it? My shift is supposed to be at seven-fifteen…"

Eriol glanced at the alarm clock near her bed. "It's already five past eight."

She turned to look at him with hopelessness. "You're kidding."

"There. Check it yourself."

He was right.

"Oh my god," Tomoyo had her face buried in both palms. She looked panicked. "What kind of excuse should I use? I'll be fired by tomorrow…"

He eyed her; a strange sensation of pity crept into his heart as he watched her walking around the small room. He almost didn't believe it when he heard himself speak in a kind voice, "Let me handle that."

**.**

**to be continued.**


	6. Another Step

from **skybluescramble**:

well… do I still have readers?

I don't know :|

okay, so this is important.

I WILL NOT CONTINUE THIS FANFICTION UNLESS I'M DONE WRITING **SCARLET**.

you can call it on hiatus, even though it's more like… um, _delayed_.

yeah -_- **DELAYED**.

still, thanks to Lemon Sherbet for proofreading this chapter, and to the reviewers: **sakuraakamichelle**, **Cata06**, **Shanaa12**, **James Birdsong**, **bitesizedallyx3**, **yoorim-ah**, **LadyMidnightGuardian**, **vedha**, **guardiana**, **chiharu-tanaka**, **redeyes143**, **Seirin**, **cheng**, and **Yourreader**.

hopefully this chapter is enjoyable.

love you.

* * *

><p><strong>DISCLAIMER<strong>:

Card Captor Sakura/カードキャプターさくら

CLAMP©1997

* * *

><p><strong>:: Damsel in Distress, Daidouji ::<strong>

**.**

**.**

TO believe that she owed Hiiragizawa Eriol once was quite difficult for Tomoyo. Right after she was—finally—getting used to think that the sorcerer might have changed his personality after years, from the previously so kind-and-sweet boy into a despicable lad, suddenly he saved her from getting fired by calling the manager of the café at which she was working as a part-timer. He told her manager, Ishida-san, that she had fallen ill and begged him not to fire her. To her amazement, although Ishida-san wasn't the kind of person who listens to other's plea, he spared her this time. When Tomoyo went to work with heart hammering her chest the following day, Ishida-san simply smiled at her and said, "How's your condition? Got better?"

She really wanted to catch that moment in a video recorder. That was the very first time her manager actually talked to her, aside from commands or directions he gave while working.

* * *

><p><span>CHAPTER 06:<span>

**Another Step**

* * *

><p>"WHAT is this?"<p>

Eriol looked down to a lunchbox in his hand and shrugged. "A lunchbox, I suppose?"

"I can figure it out that much, thanks." Rolling her eyes, Tomoyo grabbed the rectangular thing to make an emphasis at her point and spoke, "I mean, why suddenly you gave this to me? You don't even explain anything! Don't tell me you want me to guess your intention, because I am no mind-reader."

She was too right to be rebutted.

"That's your meal." He told her. "You cannot eat one hundred yen bread every noon while you're on…" he gave a swift rummage on his brain to find a name, "…on my allergy-ridding program."

Good enough.

She almost couldn't believe it.

"You made this? For me?"

"Don't get your hopes too high," he said dejectedly. "Like hell I would. Nakuru did, but it's only leftovers from our breakfast menu. She tends to cook a lot, more than enough to feed six hungry lions."

Still, she felt happy he went all of the trouble for her. He seemed to sense it, because he then shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Whatever. But you'll have to eat more nutritious food from now on, until we're finished." Not the kindest fashion of answering, of course, yet somehow it didn't matter anymore. She smiled, hands holding the lunchbox close to her chest with a grateful face.

"Thanks, Hiiragizawa."

She heard him murmur something like a "You're welcome" under his breath.

"Not only for this," she continued, suddenly remembered how much she had owed him before, "but also for the last time. You saved me from being fired."

They had walked into the cafeteria and Eriol led their steps towards his favorite spot. Tomoyo copied his action when he sat down on a chair, purposefully taking one in the opposite direction so that she could put some necessary space between them. The cafeteria in Seijou University used a self-service system, means all students had to pick a tray, choosing the menu over some available selections (and the staffs would put whatever they chose on the tray), then carrying it to their table by themselves. That was why she found it undeniably strange when she saw a staff approaching them with a tray in her hand, and then put it down in front of Eriol.

"Thank you, Mutou-san."

"Anytime, Hiiragizawa-kun."

Tomoyo cringed. She really, really, had a bad predicament about this. She waited until the staff disappeared in the crowd before leaning forward, speaking to the bespectacled man before her with a low voice. "What did you do?"

As predicted, he immediately put on an innocent front. "Pardon me?"

"What did you do that makes that girl gave you a special lunch delivery?" Her brows cocked to one side as she made a gesture with her head. "You're supposed to pick your own meals and wait in line like others."

He stabbed a large piece of potatoes with his fork. "I didn't do anything. The thing is, I always eat the same menu everyday, and out of the blue, one day she offered her hands to me. She said it would be more effective this way. By her own will she tempted me with a favor, why should I refuse? Furthermore, I'm not picky in the case of food."

"Are you sure you did nothing?" She pressed.

"Well," he took another bite of his roasted chicken, "I smiled at her… a little."

Tomoyo huffed. "Manipulative git."

"I'll take it as a compliment."

He stretched a hand to reach for his glass, yet accidentally it brushed her elbow, which was propped on their table to support her weight. They reflexively retreated back, her eyes glinted with anticipation of what would occur next and his examined her body closely, trying to find the slightest reaction, but there was none.

Nothing.

* * *

><p>THE sight of a daydreaming Tomoyo was scarcely to be seen by anyone. Even Sakura, who often spent a lot of time with her, only had spotted it twice. Or maybe three times. That was why she was curious when she saw Tomoyo stirring the onion stick in her glass with eyes staring blankly to the front. Dozens of questions popped up instantly inside her head. Sakura knew that since Eriol came back to Japan, she couldn't have time to be together with her cousin as much as she had before. For whatever reason, she also often saw Tomoyo and Eriol sitting near each other or walking in parallel. Even any morons would recognize something was up.<p>

"Tomoyo-chan?" She tried to distract the raven-haired girl by waving hand right on her nose. "Are you okay?"

It worked. Tomoyo seemed to be back to earth.

"Ah. I'm fine."

"But you look tired." Sakura went on, "Does it have anything to do with Eriol-kun?"

"No." Tomoyo answered a second too fast. It only caused the Card Mistress to cock her brow in suspicion. "No, really. I'm just… thinking."

Sometimes, cliché was the safest way to get out of unwanted situation.

"About what?"

"Some subjects I can't understand yet." Tomoyo lied. Sensing that she wouldn't be able to hide things from Sakura if she stayed with her, she hurriedly pack her things and prepared to leave. "Sorry Sakura-chan, I must go to the library. Catch you later."

Another lie.

And lying to Sakura was a matter that Tomoyo hated to the very core.

Tomoyo walked around the campus ground in an attempt to find the sign of presence of Hiiragizawa Eriol. They needed to talk. Now. Or she wouldn't be able to get rid of this disturbing thought off her mind. But where the hell was that smug git when she—for the very first time—intentionally searched him? She turned around in frustration and her torso bumped against a hard planes. Tomoyo looked up, genuinely wanting to utter an apology but she was greeted by Eriol's surprised visage instead.

Correction: his surprised visage with only a few inches away from hers.

Her body went rigid as she leaped backwards. Heart thumping, Tomoyo froze on her ground and waited for the allergy symptoms to spark. Eriol did that, too. They stood still for thirty seconds facing each other.

None happened.

All was well.

"I can't believe it!" Tomoyo gasped in astonishment. "Is it gone? Already?'

Eriol shook his head. "I'm not sure. You probably just adjusted to unintentional contact or a light brush."

She threw him a glare. "You're such a mood-killer."

"I'm being realistic," he reasoned. "We underwent nothing but the first phase. If you determined to be free from this strange sickness, then we have to give you a thorough therapy. Otherwise…"

His eyes narrowed into slits as he smirked. Tomoyo reflexively took a step back. "What?"

"Otherwise," Eriol continued, "you will embarrass yourself later… after finally being able to have a romantic relationship with someone you fancy."

She didn't like the way he sounded so right. Hiiragizawa Eriol was obviously a clever man, she knew it ever since they were elementary graders. But she wasn't stupid either, and it punched her pride every time he outsmarted her, which seemed to be almost all the time. He always left her no place for arguing. If he did, and they shared arguments afterwards, Tomoyo was the one who will suffer losing. It wasn't fair how he made his words like a law.

"So then," Tomoyo huffed as she folded her arms, "what do you suggest?"

"Give it a test."

"Test?"

Eriol nodded. From the corner of his eyes he could see the tall figure of Nakajima Kouta walking closer, with the annoying girl who confronted Tomoyo in the library that day clinging to his arm like a koala, and an evil idea flicked on his mind. Giving Tomoyo a full stare into her eyes, he replied, "Yes. Furthermore… I guess we can give a little show as well."

Even before Tomoyo had her chance to question, she felt her body being pulled into a warm embrace by two strong arms, which made her speechless. Her heart beating wildly and she literally forgot to breathe. This was, indeed, the most intimate position she'd ever experienced with a guy. She was sure that her face had turned deep crimson, thanks to Eriol's forearms which kept her head hidden from others' view.

Oh God, this was embarrassing.

But actually… it felt rather nice.

If only she didn't sense the familiar dizziness and uncomfortable heat flowing through her body by the next moment.

"Hiiragizawa," her fist nudged his hard abdomen, her gasping tickled his sternum. "Let go of me."

"Why should I?" he whispered in pretense of not knowing what was happening.

"The fever… is coming. And it's not like the previous ones…"

Eriol didn't obey. She only heard his soft reply right on ear before she fell unconscious, slow and tickling. "I know, Tomoyo. I know."

* * *

><p>TWIRLING her pencil in silence, Tomoyo tried her best to concentrate as she read the same line in her textbook for the seventh time. She was desperately working on her essay, which was supposedly done three hours earlier, had it not been for the constant distraction: her grumbling stomach.<p>

She didn't have time to buy her dinner today. Something kept her from doing so, and that particular 'something' was now busy cutting green vegetables in a small section she called kitchen. Sighing, Tomoyo put her pencil down.

"Hiiragizawa?" she called tiredly, "Why can't you just… you just… go home?"

"We still had unfinished business." Eriol replied calmly. He picked up a boiling pot from the stove, put it on another plate and carried it to her. "But first you must eat."

Tomoyo threw her textbook and essay paper onto bed. "What's this?"

"Beef stew."

It confused her that Eriol seemed to take a good care of her, even though his promise to help her ditching the allergy was only a small deal between two persons—not such a legal contract, it meant. Why did he bother to go through all the troublesome things?

"Eat, Daidouji. I made the food so it could be eaten, not be stared at."

Snapping out of her daze, Tomoyo took a spoonful and carefully blew on it before checking the taste. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Is it because your magic or do you actually can cook?"

Eriol smirked. "Complimented by a Daidouji. I feel honored."

"Forget what I just said." Tomoyo retorted quickly. To her relief, Eriol didn't rebut her again, so she could eat in silence. From the corner of her eyes she saw him reaching out to grab a piece of paper and a pen and then began scribbling something. When Tomoyo finally gulped down the last bitof her stew, he showed her the paper. It was now full of lines, diagrams, and neat writings.

"We have something to discuss," he announced.

Tomoyo put aside her bowl. She bent forward in pure curiosity, trying to get a closer view at whatever Eriol had written. He couldn't help but gave a subtle smile looking her like that. "It is about your male allergy."

She was confused. "What's wrong? Is it getting worse?"

"Depends on your perspective," he calmly answered, index finger pointed at the first diagram. "Look, when we first started this therapy—" Tomoyo snorted at his last word, "—you were completely unable to handle any contact with men. But today we just found out that you had turned immune to simple touch. Personally, I'd like to say that it's a nice progress."

Tomoyo nodded in agreement. "That's good to hear."

"And from now on, we will take your therapy into the next phase."

"What?"

"Next phase, Tomoyo. I think you heard me."

"B—but… I don't get your meaning…." She desperately struggled to make sensible excuses, even though both of them perfectly knew that she understood what he meant. Flawlessly. He had hugged her all of a sudden today; there was no guarantee he wouldn't do it for the second time. Or third. Or fourth. Or until he was convinced that she was healed, free from such a troublesome allergy.

Eriol chuckled. "You do, Tomoyo. Still a bad liar, huh?"

That shut her up.

As the bespectacled man before her studied his own writings, Tomoyo took her liberty to observe him. Gods, he was beautiful. So beautiful, if she might admit truthfully. They had a considerable amount of time together, yet she didn't have chance to get a closer look at his physical charm. However , right now, he was all for her to see.

She saw everything she failed to notice before.

The way his dark bangs fell onto his forehead made her fingers itch to brush them away. Those eyes, which narrowed slightly when he concentrates, had a weird effect of causing her heart to skip a beat. And that jaw, rugged and strong, only made him look manlier. When she let her eyes travel downwards, she was mesmerized by his masculine arms, which were perfectly showed off by long-sleeves rolled up until elbow. And today she had them wrapped around her body…

Tomoyo gulped nervously. It was lucky that Eriol was so into his own thinking and unaware of her shifting uncomfortably.

"Well," he spoke again, sending Tomoyo back from her La-La-Land. "We had known that you still can't handle hugging, but there's one thing I need to make sure of."

She blinked a few times, feeling stupid. "Eh?"

Without further speaking, Eriol stood upright and approached her. He fell on his knees in front of Tomoyo, then began to lean forward, swallowing up the space between their face.

"H-Hiiragizawa?" Stuttering, Tomoyo scooted backwards until her back hit the wall behind. "Stop! S-stop!"

He kept going.

None of their body parts had made contact, but if he didn't stop anytime soon, then they would be pressed against each other from the waist up. Tomoyo felt her temperature rise dangerously high. She had to do something to halt Eriol. The problem was, the only way to do so is by putting her hands on that broad chest to push him off.

Something she definitely wouldn't do.

Perhaps Tomoyo had grown immunity to simple brush or caress, but this would be a fully initiated touch. She wasn't mentally prepared.

Five inches left between their bodies. She started to mumble incoherent lines.

"W-wait… Hiiragizawa… no… d-don't…!"

It seemed he wasn't listening to her at all.

Three inches. Tomoyo could feel his breath fanning against her face. She guessed he could feel hers, too.

Was he going to kiss her?

Seriously?

Then, out of the blue, Eriol stopped moving closer. His face was right before her nose. His eyes bore straight into hers as he spoke in an amused tone, "Hmm… I see that you also cannot handle extreme nearness, regardless you aren't physically touched. We must take care of this as well."

He retreated, opened the pen lid and casually wrote down what he just said in his diagram paper.

Tomoyo wanted to faint.

**.**

**to be continued.**


End file.
